


theory of objective amorality

by seraf



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canon Rewrite, Character Study, F/F, Gen, different killer, third trial rewrite
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-15
Updated: 2019-05-15
Packaged: 2020-03-06 00:25:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,904
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18839863
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seraf/pseuds/seraf
Summary: what if kiyo hadn't killed angie?a brief canon divergent scene/character study.





	theory of objective amorality

once they had figured out how the seesaw mechanism had worked, it was clear enough that kiyo had been the one to kill tenko. who else would do it in that fashion, frankly? they’d briefly suspected himiko, true, but the other rooms’ modifications proved that wasn’t the case. plus - the modifications to the ritual, the careful setup, the amount of effort . . . none of that seemed like something himiko would _do,_ speaking frankly.

 

and to top it all off, he’d confessed.

 

‘ you’re exactly right, ‘ he said, almost like he was proud of shuichi for figuring out his trick. ‘ well done. ‘

 

for half the room, that had sealed the deal, and they wanted to vote immediately.

 

but shuichi wasn’t so sure.

 

kiyo had been upfront about killing tenko, as soon as shuichi had puzzled out his trap. and he didn’t _seem_ like he was lying now. besides . . . it didn’t seem like his kind of crime. the evidence showed that angie had been killed by a member of the student council, using some sort of blunt force trauma, last night, and that it had been in her room. he’d found the bottom of one of her busts to still be damp to the touch, the culprit presumably having washed off the blood. the dent in her head matched to the corner of it.

 

but who would have had the motivation to do that? and the strength? gonta had the strength, yes, but shuichi was pretty damn sure it wasn’t him - and keebo had been able to vouch for him.

 

shuichi’s eyes widen slightly as it clicks.

 

‘ have you figured it out, shuichi? ‘ kiyo asks him, voice soft but carrying across the circle of stands nonetheless. shuichi’s brow knits. it would let the pieces fit together. kiyo gets several suspicious looks from the rest of the group members, but shuichi was beginning to have a sinking feeling he knew the truth of the crime.

 

‘ i . . . think so, ‘ he says, slowly. ‘ everyone - what if _tenko_ had been the one to kill angie? ‘

 

‘ no! tenko would never do that! ‘ himiko says, voice pitching even higher with her emphasis, desperation clear. ‘ she was on the student council! what reason could she have to wanna kill angie? ‘

 

‘ she joined the student council as an infiltrator, ‘ kiyo states calmly, knitting his bandaged fingers together almost demonstratively. ‘ it was to protect _you,_ himiko. to do such, she stood against the darkness of this school all on her own. ‘ he raises one hand, finger extended, speaking with the same tone and posture he had used when he was lecturing shuichi on the procedure for mummifying the dead in ancient egypt. as though it were simple fact. ‘ and i believe that it was for much the same reason that she was willing to kill. ‘

 

himiko seems at a loss for words, tugging her hat down and rotating it in her hands.

 

‘ you _had_ to have killed them both, ya creep! ‘ miu shouts, leaning over the banister for her podium.

 

kiyo doesn’t even shift, seemingly unbothered.

 

‘ no, he . . . has a point, ‘ shuichi says slowly. ‘ that would explain the hair we found stuck to rantaro’s statue, and why angie let them into the room, and the weapon choice. and . . . in a way, it would explain why tenko was so adamant about volunteering to be the spirit medium. ‘

 

‘ but why would you do that? ‘ it’s an outburst from kaito, who seemingly can’t hold back the words, knuckles white around his podium. ‘ why would you kill her? monokuma said that the second blackened wouldn’t count! what the hell could you even stand to gain? ‘

 

kiyo tips a finger in his direction. ‘ i will explain that after the vote. first, i must make something clear. ‘ he turns his eyes to look at monokuma, expression unreadable. ‘ that rule _does_ still apply, yes? if the blackened in this case is dead, they _are_ still the blackened, aren’t they? ‘

 

monokuma growled, eyes glowing red and clearly irritated. ‘ . . . i suppose that _is_ the rule. ‘ his claws extended, another sign he was pissed off. ‘ _if_ there are two murders committed by seperate culprits, only the first killer becomes the blackened. so _if_ that were the case, the first killer would still be considered the blackened, even if they were dead. ‘

 

kiyo inclines his head in their headmasters’ direction in thanks.

 

‘ so if shuichi is correct, there won’t _be_ an execution this trial? ‘ maki asks bluntly, her arms crossed.

 

‘ _if_ he was, ‘ monokuma says, through grit teeth.

 

the group all looks at shuichi now, who swallows some at the attention being turned at him. maki’s eyes were stony, as ever. himiko’s lower lip was trembling, just a little bit. kaito was frowning, intensely. kokichi was . . . well, he was kokichi. he looked like he didn’t care. kiyo, on the other hand, seemed to be . . . intrigued. studying him. as though he _hadn’t_ just killed someone.

 

shuichi rests his chin on his hand for a moment. ‘ alright, ‘ he says finally. ‘ here’s what i think happened. ‘

 

‘ for some reason, tenko visited angie last night. maybe she went there under the guise of offering up an apology. since she was a member of the student council, angie let her into her lab. angie had her back turned to her for a moment to pick up the necronomicon. that explains why the blood spatters were on there, even though it seems like someone tried to hide it. our culprit then took their chance, picking up one of the statues surrounding them, and hitting angie in the head with it. having done that, they panicked, washing the blood off the bottom of the statue and trying to hurriedly hide the necronomicon. as they left the room, one of their hairs stuck to the wax figure of rantaro. the culprit returned to their dorm. ‘

 

he takes a breath. ‘ the next day, the culprit woke up with the rest of us. it took until around noon for us to be worried for angie. kokichi opened the art lab door for us, and we discovered her body, and began our investigation. during said investigation, kiyo offered to host a seance to communicate with angie to ask her who her killer had been. me, himiko, kokichi, and our culprit set up for the seance. our culprit covered the cage with a sheet, planting a sickle at the top of the cage. we all went to our corners of the room and began to sing. during the song, kiyo followed the salt trail to the board he had removed at some point, and under the cover of darkness, used the board as a seesaw, pushing tenko upwards onto the sickle, and killing her instantly. in the confusion that followed, kiyo used the opportunity to drop the sickle under the floorboards. ‘

 

he was certain of his deductions. but something felt _off,_ nonetheless. ‘ our culprit is . . . no longer here with us. tenko chabashira, the ultimate akido master. ‘

 

the voting screens came up. there was one vote by kiyo’s name, and, looking at himiko’s angry face, shuichi didn’t need to be a detective to figure out who got it.

 

‘ unfortunately, ‘ monokuma starts, and shuichi has never felt his chest plummet so quickly than at that one word, ‘ you’re entirely correct! tenko was the blackened in this case. ‘ shuichi exhales, shoulders slumping in relief. monokuma turns towards kiyo again, who almost looks serene where he stands. ‘ as for you, masky! you might think you’re so clever, but we’ll be changing the rules after tonight, _thank_ you very much. ‘

 

‘ i expected as much, ‘ kiyo states calmly.

 

their podiums lower, they step out onto the floor of the trial room, beginning to gather, and himiko’s fist slams into kiyo’s stomach.

 

it doesn’t seem to phase him that much, but she keeps lashing out, a flailing mess of arms and legs and nails. gonta ends up having to physically lift her up away from him, kiyo looking a little more wary now.

 

‘ but . . . why, kiyo? why you kill tenko? ‘ he asks as he lifts himiko as though she weighed nothing at all.

 

‘ would you rather have seen her executed? ‘ kiyo asks simply, and a silence settles over the group. he lifts one hand in a slight gesture. ‘ whether you like it or not, that _was_ the alternative. ‘

 

the uncomfortable truth of the question sits uneasily in their stomach.

 

‘ be that as it may, ‘ shuichi says, trying to fight off the rising unsettling feeling, ‘ that doesn’t explain why you killed her, kiyo. ‘

 

his hands spread in front of him a little bit. ‘ that was a large part of the reason. think of the executions we have seen thus far. tenko, by killing angie, resigned herself or all of us to death. i can only imagine the punishment monokuma had in store for her. in the way i killed her, she died instantly. ‘ himiko looks as though she’s going to interrupt, and kiyo simply raises a finger. ‘ the other reason being . . . i wanted to test just how far monokuma was bound by his own rules. ‘

 

he embraces himself, eyes closing for a moment. ‘ there have been many times when he has spoken about the trials as though they are the crux of this killing game, or about needing to make things more interesting. a trial that concluded with no execution would surely be unsatisfying then, yes? but he _had_ established his own rules. ‘ he shrugs ever so slightly. ‘ and _had_ he changed them, and made me become the blackened for my crime, i believed i had put enough thought into the setup to have a chance of getting free, i will admit. but more than that, i was sure you would see through it. if i were executed, none of you would particularly mind, and you would have gained a possibly crucial piece of information. ‘ he spreads his hands again. ‘ thus were the circumstances of my crime. ‘

 

kaito looked a little ill. ‘ so - so you really did just kill her because you could? ‘

 

kiyo hums. ‘ not . . . exactly. but if that’s how you would prefer to see it, you’re welcome to. ‘ he inclines his head slightly. ‘ from an anthropological point of view, you have to realize that there is no such thing as objective morality. thinking killing is bad may be your point of view, but it isn’t necessarily the shared or right point of view. ‘

 

the room is filled with a deafening silence, and he bows his head slightly as he walks out to the elevator. ‘ i will be in my lab if you need to talk with me, ‘ he states simply, and then he’s gone.

 

kokichi waits until he’s gone, and then says, ‘ well, come on, we _allll_ predicted he was gonna kill someone eventually, right? ‘

 

( later, in his room, he furiously jots down notes in notebook #4. his intention or not, kiyo had given him a few more elements he had needed to dissect this killing game. the principles therein. tucking his notebook under his pillow, he decides that, however disgusting he might find him, he’s going to talk to kiyo tomorrow. perhaps he might have some new input he can give kokichi. of course, the trick is going to be getting the truth out of him without kiyo realizing what he was _doing,_ because kokichi trusted him just about as far as he could throw him.

 

a trial with no blackened.

 

he sat back up, pulling out his notebook again.

 

that gave him an idea. )


End file.
